2.0 / 2.5 Roadster / Roadster Sport Tire Thread

[Jaff]

Is anybody running Bridgestone Potenza RE 11's...

Bridgestone Potenza RE-11

Thinking of replacing the Yoko AD07's with them when the 07's wear out.

 

[DrTaras]

A quick follow-up on my experience with the Proxes 4's...So while they don't always grip under full acceleration, they are probably otherwise fine if you replace all four.

Next time you get tires, will you be getting these again?

 

[DrTaras]

I don't see any posts about Continental ContiSportContact (280-AA-A... 195/50R16 88V for the fronts or the 225s for the rear). Any experiences or thoughts?
Continental ContiSportContact 2

 

[ChadS]

Next time you get tires, will you be getting these [Proxes 4] again?

I'll certainly look around at other options at the time (if tread wear is as promised, it will be a couple of years in the future); but right now I'm thinking yes, I would get them again. Things have dried out a bit and I've tried them more including in performance mode. Sometimes the TC light doesn't come on at all; usually it does a little, but not for long. Sometimes it's on for a while...while annoying, I don't really need the extra speed, and it's probably less annoying than changing the tires every few months and being reminded that I'm spending far more on rubber than electricity. It's kind of the principle (waste, in addition to price) of the thing, ya know?

I really should switch the fronts first to be sure, but that's got the same problem...the darting isn't that big of a deal, and I hate to throw away good fronts (they probably still have at least 10k left on them) just to test it out.

I haven't tried the Continentals you mentioned, but I did look at them. On paper, at least, the Proxes 4 seemed slightly better all around. Using just paper, I had narrowed my options to either the Proxes 4 or the AD07's. I looked at a lot of factors (grip, price/treadwear, wet performance, noise, ride, etc) but the grip vs price/treadwear tradeoff was the reason I was looking around, so that is what the decision came down to for me.

 

[Eberhard]

i choosed toyo cf1. very silent and smooth to ride. the grib is very good for my non-sport roadster. lets see hie long the back-tire will last.

 

[vfx]

I don't see any posts about Continental ContiSportContact (280-AA-A... 195/50R16 88V for the fronts or the 225s for the rear). Any experiences or thoughts?
Continental ContiSportContact 2

Let us know what you decide Ian. At lunch Sunday one owner was testing Goodyears.

 

[ChadS]

I really should switch the fronts first to be sure, but that's got the same problem...the darting isn't that big of a deal, and I hate to throw away good fronts (they probably still have at least 10k left on them) just to test it out.

I know it looks strange to quote myself, but I'm responding on behalf of another owner that prefers to remain anonymous.

The good news is that he put Proxes 4 on his rear wheels 25k miles ago, and says they are working fine and wearing very well. He just put Proxes 4 on his front wheels too, and reports that the high-speed darting does go away. Cool.

Now, the bad news. He has a 1.5 (mine is a 2.0) and he sometimes gets the TC light flashing on decel. Tesla says 2.0's have different software and this should not happen; I saw it briefly once in heavy rain, but that's been it. He also says that the Proxes 4 are not available in the original front tire size (175/55R16), so he had to upsize to 195, which some on this board have recommended for other reasons anyway. The problem is that they seem a tiny bit too big and sometimes hit the mud-guards attached to the rear of the wheel well in turns. However, he also notes that he recently (before changing the front tires, when running on the original--now poor tread--Yoko AD07 front tires on a wet road) pulled a 360, and wonders if the stress of that event that may have contributed to this issue, which only seems to happen on the right side.

 

[DrTaras]

At lunch Sunday one owner was testing Goodyears.

Can't imagine that Goodyears taste very good, but maybe if you add some salt?

 

[DrTaras]

I'm responding on behalf of another owner that prefers to remain anonymous

I love a good mystery... make it a murder mystery and even better!

 

[vfx]

Can't imagine that Goodyears taste very good, but maybe if you add some salt?

 

[richkae]

I just got new Toyo Proxes R888s ( same sizes as the Sport A048s 195/50/16 and 225/45/17 ) that I intend to use on the autocross track.
At the same time I got a wheel alignment done, and the results of that may explain some about why my rear tires wear so fast.
This is the first time I have had an alignment done since I got the car 22 months ago.

The old alignment was wildly different on each wheel, which can't have been good.
The rears ended up with a lot less toe in than they started with and it is possible that was causing a lot of extra tire wear.

 

[beakmeister]

Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season (rear)

I let the rear tread get too low (um, far beyond what is legal or safe). The nearest tire store did not carry Yokohama. So on my 2010 Sport model with 9500 miles, I decided to try Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season for my 3rd set of rears. They are "Ultra High Performance", as opposed to the OEM DOT legal race tires. They also cost 1/2 as much. The good news is they do not slip or cause the traction control system to activate, even in performance mode. That is at temperatures as low as about 60 degF anyhow. The bad news is that they are "softer".... I feel the effect of deeper tread on any new tires, but I expect this is a softer sidewall. The back end sways more than I would like, so I have to be more careful when setting the car for a turn. All of the adjustable suspension parts are in the middle setting, so I may try to compensate next time I go in for service. And after all that, I don't dislike them enough to rip them off before the tread wears out, so I may update later.

 

[DrTaras]

I decided to try Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season for my 3rd set of rears. They are "Ultra High Performance", as opposed to the OEM DOT legal race tires. They also cost 1/2 as much...The back end sways more than I would like, so I have to be more careful when setting the car for a turn.

Thx BeakMeister!

 

[TEG]

I have used Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires on other cars and found that they having amazing wet weather traction and decent dry weather traction.
Plus reasonable tire life for a semi high-performance tire.

 

[daniel]

I know absolutely nothing about tires. I'm going to have Roadster #1117, which is a non-sport, and has the standard tires, whatever they are. I want my tires to be safe, above all else, in both wet and dry weather. Should I just stick with the tires that are on the car, or should I be considering different tires? (This is for summer. I'll ask about winter tires when winter get closer.)

Thanks for putting up with a newbie.

 

[Dragon]

The standard tires (Yokohama AD07) are probably the best for the Roadster. The main reason why people search alternatives is that they wear out really fast.
I think I will do it like this: Use the standard tires, then change only the rears with new AD07 when the fronts are still good and finally when the rears are gone again changing to some other tires, maybe Toyo.

 

[TEG]

Stick with the stock tires until they wear out... Which (for the rears in particular) will probably come sooner than you want.
Search around the forum for options on replacement tires when the time comes.

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

I would prefer the AD07 over the A048 cause the A048s are loud as hell (especially in a virtually silent car...). What a mistake to fit them on a Telsa...

... but the sound is half the fun of running street-legal racing tires! We can't rev the motor, and we can't replace the muffler with glass packs, so all we're left with is loud tires.

Bridgestone RE-71S tires are so loud that they compete with the ICE in a typical sports car. In other words, loud as hell is expected for autocross and ultra high performance tires. These companies are not designing a tire for grandma.

I went to Yokohama's website and sent them an e-mail. I doubt it'll make a difference but maybe if enough people contact them they'll produce the AD08s in 175/55R16 size. Even if they only produced a single batch, people could store them in their garage (front tire size at least).

Be warned that storing tires for an extremely long time is counterproductive. The rubber will not last forever even if they're not used. Heat and age causes changes to the rubber, and I've even had long-life tires wear out almost immediately because they had been in my father's attic for years. This warning is completely separate from Yokohama's requirements that these particular tires not be stored below 14°F.

Considering how quickly the rear tires wear, though, I imagine anyone storing front tires wouldn't have to wait too long.

 

[dsm363]

Be warned that storing tires for an extremely long time is counterproductive. The rubber will not last forever even if they're not used. Heat and age causes changes to the rubber, and I've even had long-life tires wear out almost immediately because they had been in my father's attic for years. This warning is completely separate from Yokohama's requirements that these particular tires not be stored below 14°F.

Considering how quickly the rear tires wear, though, I imagine anyone storing front tires wouldn't have to wait too long.

Thanks. That's good to know. It doesn't look like they'll make the AD08s anyway. Very strange decision on their part but I guess they figured with the Lotus Elise going out of production, they didn't need to make them in the front tire size anymore.

 

[TEG]

Be warned that storing tires for an extremely long time is counterproductive. The rubber will not last forever even if they're not used...

Tire sidewall deterioration -- a tire's silent killer